We consider the possibility of forming a joint venture (JV) between a local firm and a foreign multinational in a situation when there is no current gain from such an arrangement. In the presence of policy uncertainty and threat of entry, a current period formation of JV with the multinational,...

We study the question of optimal licensing contracts in a leadership structure and discuss the welfare implications. We assume that the size of the innovation is exogenous and the patent holder is a competitor in the product market. Then welfare depends on the types of contracts available and on...

Under certain conditions it is optimal for the noninnovating south to give patent protection for a longer time period than the innovating north. A cooperative patent agreement involves a larger protection by each country compared to the non-cooperative situation. [WP 9].

We consider a joint venture between a local firm from a less developed country, and a foreign multinational. In a dynamic two period model, we demonstrate that the availability of new technology can trigger a joint venture breakdown, a result that is consistent with the empirical evidence. We...

In an oligopoly industry of k firms (k 2) with linear demand and identical (constant) average cost of production, a bilateral merger is never profitable when all firms choose their quantities simultaneously. In this paper we reexamine the issue when some firms have first-mover advantage. We...

In a set-up of two local firms and one foreign firm, we construct a model to capture the dynamics of local industrial structure induced by formation and breakdown of cross-border joint ventures (JVs). There is a synergic gain to the JV, and the partners learn from each other. Firms play a...

We provide a comparative welfare analysis of domestic and cross-national mergers. We focus, in particular, on the importance of possible synergies in mergers, the existing market structure and the bargaining power of the merging firms (in the case of a cross-border merger).